Extensive investigations by EPA confirmed that local municipal water supply wells were not affected by contamination at Cooper Drum.

The EPA will excavate approximately 2,700 tons of shallow contaminated soil, extracting and treating soil vapors, and limit future use of the area. The EPA will clean up the contaminants in groundwater by extracting and treating the groundwater and enhancing the break down of underground contaminants.

The EPA will conduct additional soil and groundwater sampling to define the extent of contamination in specific areas of the site, and will monitor the groundwater to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedy and ensure that drinking water remains unaffected.

It's estimated that it will take five years to clean the contaminated soil at Cooper Drum and 20 years for groundwater clean up.

The estimated clean up cost for soil and groundwater is approximately $8 million $2.7 for soil and $5.3 for groundwater. Currently, the EPA's Superfund program is paying for the clean up, however the agency will continue to search for responsible parties who could potentially help fund the clean up of the site.